Building friendships through robotics

Washington

AS six robots battled it out on the floor of the DAR Constitution Hall's auditorium during the FIRST Global Challenge competition on Tuesday afternoon, a cheer rose above the din of voices echoing across the stands.

"Team Hope! Team Hope! Team Hope!" The cheering came from a corner of the stadium where a group of boys from Team Lebanon - wearing rainbow clown wigs - stood next to Team Palestine. They, and teams from Libya and Jordan, were lending their voices to support a group of Syrian refugees, known as Team Hope. It was one of many times when teens would spontaneously break out into cheers for competitors.